Finland and Ethiopia

Finland established diplomatic relations with Ethiopia in 1959, and development began in 1967. Finnish-Ethiopian relations are good and trusting. Relations focus on the long-term development, but increasingly also for trade. Dialogue between two countries has taken place at the highest political level, the last time when Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen visited Ethiopia in January 2014.

Finland's Embassy in Addis Ababa was established in 1965 and is the oldest in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia was at the time one of the few independent states in Africa and there were located major international organizations headquarters, such as the UN Economic Commission for Africa ECA and the OAU (African Union). After the revolution of 1974, Finland transferred its ambassador to Nairobi and Addis Ababa embassy was led by Chargé d'Affaires. After almost 30 years in September 2005, the Ambassador was re-instated in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia is represented in Finland by its embassy in Stockholm. An Honorary Consulate of Ethiopia is located in Helsinki.

Currently, Ethiopia is one of Finland's development cooperation long-term partner countries. Ethiopia was named Finland's development cooperation program country in 1982. In 1991 Finland decided to withdraw from all bilateral projects in Ethiopia because of the civil war and human rights violations. Cooperation started again in 1993. Finland's earliest development cooperation projects in Ethiopia focused mainly on technical assistance, and Finland sent bilateral specialists in various fields to Ethiopia. The next step was to carry out in a number of major infrastructure projects. A significant proportion of funds was also channeled to humanitarian aid during the 1980s famine. For a while, support was focused on the country's food security improvements, which, among other things, built grain stores and the launch of the animal husbandry development projects.

For Finnish companies Ethiopia and its market provide several opportunities. Finland is known for its high techology and extensive know-how in various fields. Ethiopian companies are interested in cooperation with Finnish companies and Finnish expertise is in demand.

Finland celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Ethiopia in 2015. The occasion was marked by, among other things, the establishment in early 2016 of an alumni network of Ethiopians who have studiend in Finland.